Devin Booker did not wait for the postgame moment to cool off. After the Phoenix Suns fell 2-0 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first-round playoff series on Wednesday, he called referee James Williams “terrible tonight, through and through” and said he had not been given an explanation for the technical foul he received.
Booker said he heard Alex Caruso telling officials to make the technical call and then saw it happen. He also said the officials ruled his play on Caruso an unnatural shooting motion even though, in his view, Caruso was moving forward on the play.
“I still haven’t gotten one,” Booker said of an explanation. He said, “In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight, through and through.” Booker added that the sequence was “bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport,” and said fans would start seeing the NBA as “the WWE” if referees were not held responsible.
The Suns were already in a deep hole before Booker spoke. Oklahoma City had taken a five-free-throw edge over Phoenix in Game 1, then outshot the Suns by three more free throws in Wednesday’s Game 2, leaving the Thunder with a 2-0 series lead and the Suns searching for a response before Game 3 on Saturday.
The officiating complaints centered on two moments: the offensive foul Booker drew on Caruso for what was called an unnatural shooting motion, and the technical foul that followed later. Booker said the national television stage made the call even harder to accept. “Pull the clips, run it back, I’m surprised this is happening on national TV in playoff games,” he said.
He made clear he expected to pay for speaking out. Booker said, “It’s hard, but it just feels disrespectful,” and added, “It’s my first time [complaining about the referees] in 11 years, but it’s needed.” He also said, “Whatever, I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from.” The league is likely to view those remarks as criticism of the game officials and a challenge to the integrity of the game, which would bring a fine on top of the loss that already left Phoenix facing a near must-win stretch.
For Booker, the point was not just the call itself but the threshold he said was crossed. “I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now, so to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad,” he said. With Saturday’s Game 3 next, the Suns now have to answer on the court while carrying a public complaint that Booker says he had never made in 11 seasons until now.
